Wolverhampton Literature Festival: Ned's Atomic Dustbin frontman Jonn Penney gears up to tell all

Jonn will be joined at the event, running from January 27 to 29, by author Martin Roach who wrote a book about the Stourbridge music scene back in the early 90s, which Ned's Atomic Dustbin were part of.

Their event will be entitled 'The Eight-Legged Atomic Dustbin Will Read Itself'. Jonn will be at The Slade Rooms on Friday, January 27 at 7pm to discuss his experiences. It is a free event.

Jonn said the festival will be a Wolverhampton event for Wolverhampton people.

"The backstory is that back in 1991, just as my band were starting to get some profile, there was a lad from Kingswinford called Martin Roach," said Jonn.

"He decided he wanted to be an author and write about the Stourbridge music scene, which he quite rightly thought would do well.

"He approached all three of the bands, but for whatever reason the only person to say yes right away was myself. So I invited him round for an interview and he put the book together from that.

"The book was called The Eight-Legged Atomic Dustbin Will Eat Itself – from Pop Will Eat Itself, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and The Wonder Stuff's debut album The Eight Legged Groove Machine.

"He then went up and down the country on his own to sell his book to record shops etc. And he went on to sell lots of copies. From there, he started up publishing firm Independent Music Press.

"Martin and I have got a lot in common. It's all about being independent. We stuck to our guns and did things the way we wanted to do them. We wouldn't listen to other people and just got on with what we wanted to do." He added that the Slade Rooms show will be the two of them asking each other questions which they would have liked to have been asked in their heyday.

"If people turn up, it will be because they want to know more about Martin and I," said Jonn.

Those attending may not be aware of some of Martin Roach's work, as he is now a ghost writer, something he decided to do, as he dislikes being in the spotlight.

"I have an ego and I have enjoyed some of that adoration. Martin, in contrast, doesn't want any of it. He just wants to get on with it. It's a very Black Country attitude, actually. And the Stourbridge scene had a lot of roots in that way of thinking.

"Don't get me wrong, we wanted to be hipsters among our peers, but it for us it was all about doing something we loved, connecting people and forming something people felt like they could be a part of.

"We were very much in touch with the audience. We'd play shows and then later rub shoulders with our fans in the pub every weekend. We were still just normal blokes." Taking part in the Wolverhampton Literary Festival will be a huge range of people - from musicians, such as Miles Hunt, to top-selling authors such as Sathnam Sanghera, and comedic figures such as Doreen Tipton.

There'll also be workshops, book readings, events with journalists and talks from poets.

Jonn says: "It's pretty evident, looking at the schedule of events, that there's a big appetite in the city for this type of festival."